The Moon Is Not Enough by ThePekingNoodle

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Kissin' Cousins

In which our hero and heroine find out what the Colonel's recent "vacation" was about…

Logan had been trying for several days to get in touch with Jondy with little success. He had reached her on her secure cell twice, but each time she had not been in a private location where she could talk freely.

She had tried to reach him back several times when he had similarly been unavailable. He was seriously considering making a trip to the labs to meet with her personally if he wasn't able to speak to her, when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Logan it's me." Jondy's familiar voice came over the line.

"I was about to hop on a plane to head out there. What's this about kissin' cousins and the Colonel?"

Jondy sighed. "I found out what his trip to South Africa was about, and thought you and Max should know about it."

"Hold on and let me get Max in here before you go any further." Logan placed the call on hold and went to find Max. Within five minutes the two were back and he put the call on speaker so Max could listen with him. "Go ahead Jondy."

"The South Africans have been working on their own version of the Manticore program for a while now. Only difference is that instead of genetic engineering, they opted to take a more technological route. They've developed some kind of an implant powered by a microchip. It's inserted into the base of the skull. The effect of it is to artificially rev up its recipient by tampering with brain chemistry and functions. I hear tell that the soldiers it produces, which they call the Red Series, are as strong or stronger than the X5s. But the real kicker is that the implant blocks the pain receptors. They can be badly injured but not feel any pain. Not a good thing in the long run but short term it can make them nearly unbeatable."

Logan and Max exchanged glances and Logan whistled. "And that's why the Colonel was so interested in my company's implant technology. He wants something similar to what the South Africans have, to use in the X series. The combination of the genetic engineering for enhanced abilities plus the chip enhancement would be invaluable in his eyes."

"And he made the trip to South Africa as a backup to see what he could get of their technology in the meantime." Max added.

" I don't know exactly what he got as far as the technology goes, but the word I received is that he brought back a couple of the Red series with him. Maybe he plans to test them out to see if the implant does what the South Africans claim it does. I just thought you two should know. Logan is on his radar and the Colonel is slippery." Jondy told them.

"You don't think he has an inkling about Max?" Logan asked her, his concern evident in his voice.

"Not about Max specifically, but he does have an idea that one of the renegades is in Seattle. Knowing the Colonel, I wouldn't put it past him to use the Red series as bait for a trap for the X5."

"Duly noted. We'll be extra careful until we get this sorted out." Logan told her. "How are you? Ready to execute the plan?"

Jondy laughed. "Ready and eager. I delivered your instructions to your manager at the labs, and he's just about got everything in place. The 'industrial accident' is set for tomorrow. I should be in Canada the day after."

"Be careful, Jondy." Max said.

"I intend to be. This girl is ready for a taste of freedom." Jondy paused. "I can't thank you and Logan enough for making it possible."

"Just get out safely and let us know when you're clear. "Logan answered her. "That's good enough."

"Thanks again, Logan." Jondy said softly. "I'm going to miss you two."

"If everything goes according to plan we'll hook up with you in about six months." Logan promised. "And we'll stay in touch in the meantime."

"I better go. Got some packing to do."

"Bye Jondy." Max said.

"Talk to you soon." Jondy said and then there was a click and a dial tone as the phone was disconnected.

"So what do you think about this Red Series thing?" Max turned to Logan.

Logan was frowning. "Needless to say I don't like it at all. I want to see what I can dig up on the web about this program. Sebastian probably has something on it in his files as well." He was already typing into his keyboard as he spoke. Max smiled to herself as she watched him quickly lose himself in his research.

"We still on for meeting Original Cindy at CRASH tonight?" Max asked. "We did promise her."

Logan looked up, "Huh? Oh yeah, that's fine. I just need to get this started…" and he was once more lost in his work.

Max smiled to herself as she leaned down to drop a light kiss on his head before leaving the room. She looked at her watch and decided that she didn't have enough time for a ride on her bike. It wasn't raining, so she grabbed a jacket and headed up to the roof to do some thinking about the information that Jondy had given to her.

End of Chapter Thirty-Seven…TBC…